To be honest, I couldn't quite get the point of a tweener device like the Dell Streak, a 5" Android tablet that also functions as a phone. Give me a phone or give me a tablet... or so I thought. Once I had the Streak in my hands, it made perfect sense as an excellent Internet device that's still small enough to hold to your head in conversation and stow in a pocket. The Streak should appeal to those who are into all things Net-- web, email, IM and social networking first and calling second.

Dell released the Streak more than a month ago, but it wasn't in AT&T stores or anywhere else. You had to order it direct from Dell. On the 24th, Best Buy started carrying it, and you can pick it up with a contract for $299 ($199 more than the latest superphones and $100 less than the Galaxy Tab) or without contract for $549. Though Best Buy tends to push cell contracts and jack up the retail price of smartphones, they're happy to sell the Streak for list price sans contract. Beware, it is locked to AT&T.

The Streak is very attractive and well made-- it looks like a classy piece of hardware. It weighs 7.7 ounces and has a 5", 800 x 480 multi-touch capacitive display that's quite responsive. It has a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 512 megs of RAM, 512 megs + 2 gigs internal storage and a pre-installed 16 microSD card. Battery life is surprisingly good given the fast CPU and large display and the 1530 mAh Lithium Ion battery is user-replaceable.

The Dell runs Android OS 1.6 with Dell's software customizations that improve usability and add features rather than muck with the UI. Dell has said that Android 2.2 Froyo will be coming in a matter of weeks (though we don't know how many weeks exactly). The device is fast and reception is solid over AT&T's 3G HSDPA 7.2Mbps network.